NHL 12 breaks franchise sales record, Facebook version incoming

EA announces largest launch week ever for its hockey series

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NHL 12's launch has become the largest in the series' history, according to EA Sports' internal report. Sporting a 19% increase in unit sales across North America and Europe, the EA Canada hockey title drummed up over $27 million in revenues worldwide during its debut week, setting a new franchise record and clearing a path for EA's Facebook expansion.

One week after launching on September 13 in North America, and September 9 in Europe, EA stated NHL 12 sold more than 451,000 copies and hosted over 6.9 million online matches – a 17% increase over NHL 11's first week multiplayer total. Further building on its success, EA announced the arrival of a free-to-play version of NHL 12 for Facebook called NHL Superstars.

"The fan response to NHL 12 has been incredible, and we're delighted to expand the franchise to Facebook next month," said Andrew Wilson, executive VP of EA Sports. "NHL 12 is our most exciting hockey game ever, with more than 300 gameplay improvements and the ability to play with some of the NHL's greatest legends."

Appearing next month, NHL Superstars will allow Facebookers to develop and manage their own online hockey teams and pit their virtual athletes against friends. Just, you know, go easy on the poke checks (ba-doom-ching!).